Bonds
by ZoeHope
Summary: They meet the crew of the Nal Hutta, a scientific and peaceful community. Their story much alike Voyager forces Janeway to reconsider some of her choices...


**\- BONDS -**

 **Summary :** _They meet the crew of the Nal Hutta, a scientific and peaceful community. Their story much alike Voyager forces Janeway to reconsider some of her choices..._

=/\=

A butterfly effect, Kathryn couldn't believe the cascade of events that drove her there. She was the godmother of a woman's wedding she'd known for a week.

And right at this moment, she was looking deep in the eyes of the man standing next to the groom. In front of an alien priest and an audience who couldn't possibly start to imagine the significance of this point in time, Kathryn Janeway and her first officer Chakotay were silently exchanging vows for an unspoken eternal bond.

=/\=

Everything had happened in a matter of days. Kathryn couldn't really tell.

Voyager had encountered a drifting vessel after responding to a distress call. There was a crew approximately of forty individuals aboard the Nal Hutta. Their ship was badly damaged and had been lost in space away from their homeworld for years. They had tried to defend themselves against the Voth but both their engines and weapons were destroyed.

The Geth'kal were peaceful and a scientific community. Janeway was fascinated how close their story coincided with her own protégés. She met a woman, Tal'ee who gave birth after her despature to a child named Ryna'c. She was pregnant when she embarked, her crew were not supposed to drift in space for years and her child never had the chance to meet his father.

Both crew were making repairs on the Nal Hutta when clocked Voth ships launched an attack against them. Voyager returned fire while trying to protect the alien scientific vessel, but soon Janeway had no other choice than to order to evacuate the Geth'kal to Voyager.

"Alter phasers to a dispersion frequency !" Janeway barked. "Try 1.85 GHz !"

"No effect." Tuvok responded, his fingers flying over his consol. "I'm modulating the frequency to 1.83 GHz."

Kathryn eyed the screen as two phaser beams suddenly stroke an invisible point in the void in front of them. A small Voth ship materialized briefly as it exploded in mid-flight.

"Direct hit."

"Chakotay to Voyager, beam the first group out !" His voice sounded panicked and breathless as it echoed through the bridge. He was yet professional and in control.

"Aye, commander ! We got them !" Harry Kim confirmed from behind his station.

"Prepare to evacuate the… wait, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, there's someone missing !"

On the alien ship, Tal'ee threw herself at Chakotay, "It's Ryna'c ! I can't find him !" Chakotay pushes her toward the others Geth'kal, holding her shoulders.

"I'm going to find him, please evacuate with the the last group." The commander softly squeezed her shoulder and ran out of the evacuation area. "Voyager, I need a scan of the Nal Hutta, the boy is missing."

"Yes, I got him !" Kim announced. "He is in the back section close to the shuttle bays, I just sent the exact coordinates to your tricorder, commander !"

Janeway tapped frenetically on the central console displaying various schematics of the Geth'kal vessel. "It's too far, he won't make it in time ! Tuvok !"

"I can't lock on any of them because of the ship armor, captain, they must be in the ballistic area. We're not close enough," Tuvok said before jerking on his right as sparkles erupted from one of his screens.

"Get closer !"

"If we leave our post, we will lose all of our sensors locks on the Voth ships that are out of phase," Tuvok announced not so calmly.

Janeway slammed her fist on her armrest. "Chakotay, you must hurry ! The ship is being torn apart !"

"Shields at 20 percent !"

"They've damaged our auxiliary systems we can't rout power to the shields !" Janeway shouted rising to her feet to get closer to the viewscreen. "Fire torpedos !"

"Two targets down, captain !" Harry watched closely his console. "The other are retreating !"

"I detect energy peaks on the Nal Hutta, " Tuvok said loudly, "we must put some distance…"

"No ! We must get Chakotay !"

"Captain, the explosion is imminent."

Janeway watched horrified at the viewscreen. Before her, the whole bridge of the Geth'kal ship exploded.

"Ayala, full impulse !"

The ship disappeared from the viewscreen as Voyager manoeuvred away. The expected explosion violently rocked the ship forward. Janeway had just the time to see Ayala's nose crash on the helm console before she doubled over the railing right in front of her.

Janeway grabbed the ramp to lift herself up, breathing heavily. "Report!"

An awkward silence fell over the bridge. Ayala flattened his hands over the flashing screen of his station, dropping his head in defeat and unaware of the blood dripping droplets from his chin onto his uniform pants. Tuvok glanced at Harry waiting for him to announce the destruction of the Nal Hutta. The young man opened his mouth but not a sound was heard.

"On screen," it was not more than a whisper, but the image of thousands of metallic flying debris appeared. Kathryn breathed out and her hand slowly raised to her combadge.

"Chakotay… please, respond." She shakily asked. The silence was heavy as they waited for an answer that would never come. "Please… commander…. Please, respond," Her voice broke and her vision was troubling but she didn't shed a tear. Her knuckles were white around the railing.

"Flyer to Voyager !" Tom Paris voice broke the heavy silence on the bridge. "Sorry for the bad quality of the transmission, but our systems were damaged by the explosion. We burnt all power over the shields… so if you could just tow the flyer out of here, that'd be great…"

Her heart had jolted when the com link was opened, but now felt shattered when it was not her first officer talking.

"We'll transport you and Seven out and take care of the flyer later." Janeway said slowly in a shaky voice.

"Actually, it's four to beam up… and don't be upset, captain. Chakotay and the kid are alright."

"Tom beamed the two of us out right on time." Janeway heard her first officer and her whole body relaxed. She almost felt light headed for a slight moment.

"Don't you ever dare do this again, Commander."

"Aye, captain."

The com link closed and Janeway buried her face in her hands. A long sigh escaped from under her fingers blowing up the hairs on each side of her face. The captain pushed a white knuckled fist against her lips and slowly turned around to reach into her ready room.

=/\=

Chakotay watched Tal'ee tenderly imprison her son in her arms. She whispered something against his golden hair and held her forehead against his. Her eyes searched the cargo bay to find Chakotay and offered him a genuine smile. She held tow fingertips against her chin and close briefly her eyes. This gesture was a symbol of pure gratitude for the Geth'kal. The commander nodded toward her and left the room. His steps were heavy and he rolled his head along his shoulder, earning one or two cracking noises.

He slipped into the turbolift and asked for the third deck. He heavily leaned against the back wall and ran a hand against his face. All he wanted was to slip into something comfortable and read a book.

But that was not going to happen. The turbolift stopped in engineering and Captain Janeway was now standing in front of him.

She stared at him with almost wide eyes. Chakotay couldn't really tell, but she looked like she was even holding her breath.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost." He smirked nonchalantly.

"Uh Uh… you're not funny commander." She sighed irritated.

"Then… Are you coming in or taking the next?"

That glare, the Janeway death glare made Chakotay straighten his posture as she took two steps into the turbolift.

"Deck three !" she barked drily.

"What's going on? We saved all the Geth'kal, no one was injured. Why are you on edge like this?"

"I'm not _on edge_."

Chakotay raised his eyes to heaven and sighed loudly. Even short, the silence was heavy.

"I saved the boy," His grin grew even wider when she turned her back to him hastily. "...and I'm still alive."

"Are you finished yet?" She spat sharply in the air.

"Admit it. You were worried for your cherished first officer."

"Yes terribly." Her voice suddenly sounded totally different. The turbolift stopped again and she quickly walked out. Chakotay watched her with his mouth agape and forcefully held the doors which were closing on his nose.

He was at her level with fast long steps. "Why are you angry with me?"

"I'm not."

"Come on, Kathryn !" Chakotay grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "What we did today was beautiful ! We saved a whole crew and will allow them to find back their families and friends." He claimed as he held firmly her shoulders. "How many times did you wish the same happen to us?"

"I lost track… and for the record, I know." She dropped her head. "It's just… I don't know why I'm angry. I just am." She raised back her eyes to his. "Though, it's not directed to you."

"After all these years, I still can't figure you out."

"Well, this is your problem, not mine." She snapped at his comment and pushed herself out of his grasp. "I'm exhausted and I need to rest."

"No, wait-" Chakotay caught her wrist as she slipped away from him. "It's not what I meant-"

"Good night, commander !" The captain waves her hand off to escape him, but her first officer wouldn't let go easily clasping an arm each time she freed the other. "I said, good night, com-"

She gasped when her back was suddenly pressed against the corridor bulkhead. Her first officer's hands were on each side of her shoulders.

"Don't be upset, please." His intentions were supposed to sound serious but he couldn't help another insolent smirk to provoke her.

"How can you be so impudent?"

"How can you be so unfair ?"

She frowned and pursed her lips, staring at him. She sighed out and grunt angrily.

"You were _terribly_ worried about me." He whispered and his face lighted up when he noticed her eyes follow his tongue along his lower lip. She unconformably swallowed. Chakotay quickly glanced to each side of the corridor to make sure they were alone and suddenly crushed his body against hers.

"What the-"

Her voice was muffled under his mouth. She stared wide-eyed to the opposite wall behind him. Kathryn was completely petrified between confusion and delight.

Soon, her eyelids felt shut and she returned feverly his kiss. The provocative manners of her first officer, the way his body pinned hers made her head spin and she felt an overwhelming hot flush travelled throughout her body. She was completely trapped under his strength against a bulkhead.

In the middle of a corridor.

It took all of the force she could gather to push him away from her. Their lips seperated with a wet pop and they stood staring at each other, panting.

Chakotay took a moment to appreciate her appearance. Her face was flushed and her lips swollen. Her chest was rising and falling under her frenetic breathing. Spirits, she was looking gorgeous.

"What the HELL, you think you're doing !?" She barked with a broken high pitched voice.

His arms fell limp on his sides in a septic way, "This was for all the times I was mad at you for putting yourself carelessly in danger."

Her face froze with a mouth forming a perfect 'o'. She couldn't even began to contradict him over this. They had talked about this issue more often than really necessary. Mostly after her collaboration with the Borg. The fact that he was right, was not helping her annoyance at him at all.

"I _hate_ you." She spat at his face and turned round to get to her quarters.

"My pleasure, Kathryn." He nonchalantly said.

Chakotay couldn't help but notice how slow and shaky her steps looked. He even took a glimpse of how her hand grabbed the door frame for support right before she disappeared in her quarters.

The ex-Maquis smiled. He knew she was not angry about that kiss. Something was telling him that they both needed it.

=/\=

The captain of the USS Voyager shifted her weight from a foot to another. Uncomfortable in her ceremonial tight uniform. The collar was horribly itchy and she couldn't look at her feet without feeling strangled.

She eyed the man in front of her who was aboring the same outfit. On the other hand, when this uniform was worn by such a well defined body as Chakotay's, she had to admit that it looked imperial.

She avoided his eyes as he threw a charming smirk toward her. Janeway watched the beautiful bride standing next to her. Her smile was pure and her eyes wet. Her slightly silver skin and her long white hair almost made her glow under the sunlight. The groom had a darker skin with clear golden eyes and long pointy ears almost like a vulcan's. Kathryn was amazed by the beauty of those people. Their features were flawless. They almost looked like living dolls. If they weren't from the Delta Quadrant, Kathryn could have bet her hand they were the origin of the elfic myths on earth.

The command team listened carefully to the vows of the groom. The commander softly stroked the head of the young child holding tightly his leg. When he noticed Janeway's head shot up.

"When I thought fate had teared you, my soulmate, away. Our prayers and love had the strength of a god, and you returned to me," The groom recited, holding softly the cheek of his fiancée. "As you walk with me, may the creator bless you always. I will love you and you alone as my wife, my beautiful and wise companion. I pledge to fill your heart with strength and courage, at your side, I will be at peace."

Kathryn's heart rate suddenly increased as she felt her officer's burning eyes on her. What the hell was happening. Everything seemed quiet and far away from them. She felt alone. Alone with him. As if, they were back on that small paradise they called New Earth. The words that echoes through her ears no longer sounded like anyone else but Chakotay was saying them to her. All over again.

"Enemies were our ancestors, it was our destiny to be linked through life and beyond. My soul only belongs to you." The bride said softly.

She couldn't help herself. Captain Janeway glanced at Chakotay and sucked in a breath when she noticed a single tear travelling down his cheek. She also saw his jaw tighten as he made all efforts to not avoid her eyes.

She pursed her lips tightly and her eyes filled with water. She felt all of the fortified walls around her heart shatter into pieces. Her hands curled into fists as she fought to maintain her composure. She was the captain of a starship, she had to fight those emotions and pull herself together.

Chakotay seemed to understand her inner battle, a sad shadow crossed his features and another tear slipped from under his eyelashes. She felt even worse. He never disguised his love and devotion for her and suddenly it seemed that she was his gaoler.

She couldn't go through one single day without him at her side. He was her partner, her emotional compass.

At the end, who was the most devoted to the other ?

Kathryn straightened her shoulders and raised her chin, she felt a cold breeze against her cheeks and realized they were wet. Chakotay arched an eyebrow and she genuinely smile at that. He couldn't help but feel his mouth curl up too.

And right at this moment, she was looking deep in the eyes of the man standing next to the groom. In front of an alien priest and an audience who couldn't possibly start to imagine the significance of this point in time, Kathryn Janeway and her first officer Chakotay were silently exchanging vows for an unspoken eternal bond.

Chakotay felt his head start to spin when he saw his captain's beautiful lips soundlessly pronounce one short and single delightful sentence,

"I do."


End file.
